Since the events
of September 2001, the United States, followed by numerous other countries,
in particular those of the European Union, have adopted a series of measures
and national laws dubbed "anti-terrorist". However, they in
no way simply appeared out of the blue. For the most part, they consist
of an extension of already existing repressive policies as well as anti-democratic
draft legislation severely restricting personal freedom that was waiting
in the wings in anticipation of the right moment. Exploiting emotion and
confusion, the governments in question have pushed them through,
All these national norms share a common point: they maintain in a flux
the definition of terrorism, allowing the label "terrorist"
to be applied to all sorts of behavior having nothing to do with terrorist
activity. To a greater or lesser degree, they abase the fundamental rights
and guarantees of citizens, and especially those of foreigners, such as
the right to redress, the right to privacy etc., and they increase the
extra-judicial powers of the police and of the security and intelligence
agencies. Further, they open the door to the criminalization of any movement
of resistance to neo-liberal policies imposed by the powers that be, in
keeping with an almost ubiquitous tendency. The so-called anti-terrorist
fight has thus slipped neatly into place, reinforcing repression and removing
all coherence from the exercise of basic civil and political rights that
might be used to oppose the generalized practice of presenting citizens
with ready-to-enforce policies from on high.
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